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We are two students from Sweden and are about to do a research for our final dissertation. We are in need of information about how you would buy an instrument, would be great if you could help us.

In more detail our questions are
- where and when do you collect information about the instrument you want to have?
- do you seek additional advise? If so, where and from whom?
- where do you ultimately buy the instrument? why?

We know that the procedure might differ depending on the instrument, but it would nevertheless be helpful if you let us know which instrument you are playing and how you bought / would buy it.

I can probably provide some help with this - its a little difficult to explain in text though. How about a voicechat? We could use raidcall or teamspeak if you're happy to talk. - they're both public and free, so no fiddling about with email addresses or skype names.

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Originally Posted by Trollheart

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- where and when do you collect information about the instrument you want to have?
- do you seek additional advise? If so, where and from whom?
- where do you ultimately buy the instrument? why?

The answers you receive will certainly vary by how much experience a player has and what their general attitude to 'gear' might be. When one starts out, you don't have much of a clue of what to ask. As you gain experience, your specific desires become more focused and the questions you have (and who you address them to) become more purposeful.

The internet has opened a lot of doors to information and resources like message boards. In the pre-internet days, magazines and books and physical music store clerks were your only resource.

One might start out by looking online at music e-tailers to get general ideas about price and specs you desire. Having been a purchaser of music gear I also receive catalogs in the mail that basically overlap with the online information. These are good ways of just getting the hard facts about products.

From there more pointed questions might be answered on a message board community. One might ask questions about whether a particular instrument would adequately fulfill a role that one needs - eg. does this instrument have a bright sound?

Going to music stores and physically trying instruments is the best way to actually make a final decision. I have been lucky to live in urban centers where doing this is easy. Many rely on ordering online and retailers' return policies to actually try instruments out. I have always bought my instruments at a physical store or in one case directly from an individual owner.

I think one's attitude to music gear is also very important. Everyone should be critical of equipment they buy but some are quite particular about what they want. There are a sizable number of musicians for whom 'off the shelf' instruments are inadequate; as soon as they acquire the instrument they are making custom modifications to it, swapping out parts until the instrument reaches whatever strict standard they are aiming for.

@Plankton: if we understand correctly, you have bought one guitar without playing it before, and another one you played before and liked it in the store. Are you happy with both guitars? Would you normally rather play a guitar before you buy it or doesn't that make a big difference for you? could you explain why?

@eeglug: could you please explain a bit more why physically trying the instruments in the store is the best way to make a decision? Would you not consider buying an instrument online, and why?

@Plankton: if we understand correctly, you have bought one guitar without playing it before, and another one you played before and liked it in the store. Are you happy with both guitars? Would you normally rather play a guitar before you buy it or doesn't that make a big difference for you? could you explain why?

Yes, very happy with both.

I'd definitely rather play the instrument first, since no instrument is exactly the same, they all have their different nuances. As for the PRS, I knew it would be a quality guitar, and I trusted the gentleman that sold it to me. He had been a listener of my stuff for a couple years and he wanted me to have it since he was getting on in years and was losing his abilities. I'll probably do the same when I start losing it myself, unless my daughter wants to retain it.

@eeglug: could you please explain a bit more why physically trying the instruments in the store is the best way to make a decision? Would you not consider buying an instrument online, and why?

It's a bit like shopping for clothes. You want to try something on because maybe the material is not right or the 'cut' does not fit your body.

Every instrument is different, even within the same model coming off the same assembly line. You need to rule out for those differences. That judgment can be made in a matter of minutes at a physical store or it can be played out over weeks and months through online shipping/returns. Note that it's also possible to receive a damaged instrument from an online transaction - one that was either damaged to begin with or one that was damaged while in transit. A music store is typically not going to display an instrument that's very obviously damaged; it should at least pass a minimum physical inspection before being placed out 'on the floor'.

I would say that one is compromising slightly when using a physical store because they might not have the stock you are looking for. Or they may have the model of the instrument you want but the particular one they have is flawed in some way. It's perhaps not uncommon for buyers to tailor their decisions based on the inventory at physical stores, to the point where the buyer may walk out with an instrument purchase that is outside of his/her initial buying criteria. It's a compromise, but one that many are willing to make to avoid the 'sight unseen' alternative of an online purchase.

In the end I wouldn't totally rule out online shopping but it would have to be a last resort for me personally. There are some brands/models that are difficult to find at a physical store. If you live in an area without physical stores, online shopping might be your only option. To their credit, online retailers seem to be quite sympathetic to their customers and are generous with their return policies.

I should add that I have bought a fair amount of music gear online that is not a physical instrument: electronics, software and incidental accessories like instrument cables, guitar strings etc.